Joanne Harris: We should all celebrate Bookshop Day

Small presses, libraries and independents are all under threat. No one wants to hear their child ask: ‘What’s a bookshop?’On Saturday it is Bookshop Day. My heart always sinks a little when I hear that a day has been set aside to celebrate something I love: it too often feels like being put on a list of exotic endangered species – and indeed libraries, small presses and bookshops are all disappearing fast.When my first book was published, there were no ebooks, no Amazon and most high streets boasted a bookshop. Chains and independents thrived equally – partly because book prices were fixed, which made for a level playing field. But with the demise of the net book agreement, the book world began to change. Independent bookshops could no longer afford to compete. The chains pointed to the free market – until Amazon appeared on the scene, when they themselves began to fall to online competition. Related: Weird and wonderful bookshops worldwide – in pictures Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]

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